


The Fic Is A Lie

by hexmaniacchoco



Series: April Fool's! I still haven't come up with a title yet [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Case Fic, Dean Loves Pie, Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, Gore, Lemon Cakes, M/M, just a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 03:25:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11546505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hexmaniacchoco/pseuds/hexmaniacchoco
Summary: Sam, Dean, and Cas are on their way back from one case when Sam finds them another one in a nearby seaside town. They start to look into the death of a man found in a lake near the town, but meanwhile, Sam gets an e-mail which creates a new set of problems for them.





	The Fic Is A Lie

  
“So get this,” Sam started, sitting across the diner table from Dean and Cas.  
  
They were on their way back to the bunker from a previous case involving a nasty tangle with a monster that had been targeting couples. They defeated it not a day ago, and Dean groaned, not looking forward to another case so soon.  
  
“Sam, unless you’re gonna tell me they have an all-you-can-eat pie bar I don’t wanna hear it right now,” he complained, cutting into his fried steak.  
  
Sam thinned his lips at Dean and continued, “It involves naked people, Dean, if that helps.”  
  
Dean perked up a little at that, and Cas side-eyed him before looking at Sam and saying, “If there’s another case, we should try and help the people involved regardless of their state of dress.”  
  
Dean gave Cas an offended look, and Sam smirked before continuing to explain what he found.  
  
“There’s a town only a few hours from here, and apparently, some fisherman pulled up a mostly eaten body, except for the internal organs. Which, guess which one was missing,” he said.  
  
Dean drew his brows together in confusion for a moment.  
  
“The heart?” he replied, “The liver? The eyes? Lots of things eat lots of different body parts, Sam.”  
  
Sam rolled his eyes.  
  
“The liver was missing,” he answered.  
  
“There are multiple creatures which feed on human livers,” Cas interjected, “so it’s likely this is something we should look into.”  
  
“I agree,” Sam agreed.  
  
“Ok well so do I,” Dean chimed in, still feeling somewhat attacked after initially having such a good time. “It’s not like I’m really going to turn down saving some people we’re close enough to help just ‘cuz we were on our way back from another case,” he added.  
  
“We know Dean,” Sam said, “We were just teasing you.”  
  
Dean scoffed. “Yeah, because all Cas ever does is tease people.”  
  
Now Cas looked at Dean with offense. Sam looked between them in confusion. He opened his mouth to question it, but decided better of it and instead looked back down at his phone.  
  
Dean picked up on the sudden awkwardness and blushed. “Anyway, what about the naked people? You uh, didn’t mention that at all,” he said.  
  
“Oh,” Sam replied casually, still scrolling through articles on his laptop, “The body was found in a lake that’s popular in the region for skinny dipping. It’s probably what the victim was doing when they were attacked.”  
  
“Probably,” Dean agreed. “So what kinds of monsters do we know of that like a little human liver pate?” he mused.  
  
“Something in the shapeshifting family, most likely,” Cas answered. “Many shapeshifters prefer to feed on human hearts and livers.”  
  
“But then why eat the body?” Dean asked. “Why not just take the organs that’re on the menu?”  
  
Cas shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said impatiently, “It’s possible that fish and other wildlife got to the body before the fisherman found it.”  
  
“The victim’s name was Jack Bayers,” Sam said through a mouthful of food, ignoring them. “He was supposedly often seen visiting the lake at night, sometimes with his friends, sometimes not. It’s part of the investigation, but the friends say they were just having some fun at the lake.”  
  
“Well, we’ll head out after we’re done eating, and check into a hotel when we get into town,” Dean said. “Where’s the place at, anyway?”  
  
Sam clicked back over to the page with the article and scrolled to the top of the page. “Uhhh… it’s a small seaside town with some kind of cute name,” he answered as he skimmed the page. “Ah! Found it. The town’s name is ‘Fisher’s Grove’... and it’s about two and a half hours east of here,” he finished.  
  
Dean finished his meal and flagged the waiter.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“Can I get a slice of pie?” Dean asked.  
  
“I’m sorry, we’re all out,” the waiter replied, wincing a little.  
  
“Damn,” Dean grumbled.  
  
“We do have other desserts, if you’re interested,” the waiter offered.  
  
Dean thought about it for a moment. “Nah,” he finally answered, turning it down.  
  
“Well, I’m sorry then,” the waiter said politely, before turning to Sam and Cas. “Is there anything I can get for either of you?”  
  
“No thanks,” they both replied.  
  
“Well then, shall I bring the check?”  
  
“Sure, that’d be fine,” Sam answered.  
  
As the waiter left to get their checks, Sam clicked on another tab. He looked with amusement at the disappointed look on his brother’s face. “If it makes you feel better, Dean, Fisher’s Grove apparently has a restaurant on its beach that’s famous for its dessert bar,” he said, “And their motto is ‘We never run out’.”  
  
“Then we are definitely eating there at some point on this case,” Dean replied.  
  
Sam finished his own meal.  
  
\--------  
  
They pulled up to Anchor Inn a few hours later and found themselves in the lobby, waiting for an attendant to show up. A radio on the front desk was quietly playing a pop music station.  
  
“I’m confused,” Cas spoke up, getting Dean and Sam’s attention.  
  
“About what?” Dean asked.  
  
Cas’ brows drew together. “What’s so great about consuming any pastry near an ocean that would make someone write a song about it?”  
  
Dean looked confused now, and listened more closely to the radio, while Sam put his hand to his forehead and laughed.  
  
“Cas… that’s… that’s not what that song’s about,” he answered.  
  
Before anyone could comment further, a woman stepped past them and around to the other side of the corner.  
  
“Sorry I’m late! I was just getting back from somewhere and didn’t realize the person before me had left already. You three need a place to stay?” she asked.  
  
“Uh, yes, please,” Sam answered.  
  
“Alright, well, we only have the cottages available right now, a so is that ok?” she asked.  
  
“Sure, how much?” Sam answered.  
  
“$250 a night,” she said.  
  
  
  
Dean whistled lowly. He leaned against the counter and fished around in his pocket.  
  
“That’s unfortunately a bit high for us right now… You see, the Bureau sent us here to investigate a possible murder since we were in the area, but wouldn’t you know, they forgot we didn’t have our cards on us,” he lied, flashing his badge at her with a hopeful grin. “Think we could maybe get a reduced price?”  
  
The receptionist appraised him briefly, then looked over Sam and Cas as well, and then smiled in return. “I guess I’d be uh… impeding the investigation if I didn’t,” she said, “so how about $50?”  
  
“That’s uh, that’s doable,” Sam answered.  
  
“It’s very doable,” Dean agreed, tossing a wink at her for good measure.  
  
Sam handed her the fee and she gave him a key. They exchanged pleasantries, but as they turned to leave she called out to them again.  
  
“I’ll be here all night,” she said, “if any of you need me for uh, questioning.”  
  
“Well, if we do, we’ll let you know. Thank you,” Sam replied politely.  
  
They parked the impala outside their cottage and brought their stuff inside. It was small, but larger than what they were used to.  
  
“Sweet, there are two bedrooms,” Dean said as he tossed his bag onto the couch.  
  
Sam placed his own bag next to Dean’s and fished out his laptop. He sat down, putting his laptop on the small coffee table in front of the couch.  
  
“You can shower first, Dean. I’m going to do a little research,” he said.  
  
“Well if you’re gonna pull my leg like that,” Dean replied.  
  
He dug around in his bag for his towel and headed over to the bathroom. Cas pulled out his phone and sat on the couch next to Sam.  
  
\---  
  
20 minutes later, Dean was toweling his hair dry as he stepped out of the bathroom. He was met with a blank stare from Sam. He looked over at Cas, who not only seemed as bewildered as the time Dean brought him to a brothel, but also as if he was trying to look anywhere but at Dean.  
  
“Uh… did I forget pants or somethin’...?” Dean joked, despite already getting frustrated by their actions.  
  
Now Sam looked away.  
  
“No, it’s just… uh…,” he trailed off.  
  
Dean waited a moment, looking between his brother and Cas, and when neither continued speaking he threw his hands in the air.  
  
“Then what?” he demanded. He couldn’t help reflexively looking down at himself. They were the only things he had put on before exiting the shower, but maybe he had forgotten his pants.  
  
“On-- on the last case…” Sam started, apparently struggling with the words, “you uh… um… you…”  
  
He trailed off again, and Dean raised his arms impatiently. Sam then looked at him with a fresh determination in his eyes.  
  
“We know about the conversation you had,” he finally said.  
  
“What conversation?” Dean asked, his frustration showing more on his face as his brows drew together.  
  
“You know, with the one chick,” Sam pushed.  
  
Dean looked back and forth at Sam and Cas, who was still seemingly studying a seam on Sam’s overshirt. When it was clear he had no idea who he was talking about, Sam decided to elaborate a little more.  
  
“The-- the girl who seemed really into you, and she was kinda hot, and kinda your type, and then you just… didn’t…” he trailed off again, shrugging to suggest the rest of the sentence.  
  
It didn’t take Dean long to catch on. “We were on a case where we needed to pretend to be _already in a relationship_ , in case you forgot,” he defended, not even knowing why he was suddenly needing to defend himself for not having slept with someone. “And that still doesn’t answer my question about what the hell you mean telling me ‘we know about the conversation you had’,” he added, mocking Sam in his quote.  
  
Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dean… I meant after we had already finished the case. And please, don’t make me say this out loud,” he said through gritted teeth.  
  
“Say what out loud?!” Dean exclaimed. He looked over at Cas. “You wanna jump in on this maybe, since you seem to be a part of whatever’s going on?” he added.  
  
Cas looked up at Dean briefly before looking back at Sam, who looked back at him almost apologetically.  
  
“According to what Sam read--”  
  
“What do you mean what he read?” Dean interrupted.  
  
“Dean--” Sam cut in, “we’re talking about the-- the-- _confession_ that you told her.”  
  
Dean’s eyes widened at that, which he realized might have been a poor choice in involuntary reaction on his body’s part. He immediately looked toward Sam’s laptop, still open on the coffee table in front of him and Cas, the screen white and filled with blocks of text.  
  
“Sam, what is that?” Dean asked, forcing calmness into his voice.  
  
Sam looked over at his laptop. He opened his mouth, looking for the right words.  
  
“It’s…” he started.  
  
“Is that what Cas meant?” Dean interrupted again, jabbing an accusatory finger at the screen.  
  
Sam sighed. “I received an e-mail… that had a … a fanfiction in it…”  
  
“A what?!”  
  
“You know, a story written by fans about a--”  
  
“Yes, Sam, I know what a fan fiction is, thank you. Now what do you mean you got an e-mail with a fan fiction in it, and what does it have to do with our last case, and more importantly what does it have to do with a… with a confession?” he stated, finishing it off as an incredulous question.  
  
Sam just sighed again and turned his laptop slightly to face Dean better, inviting him to look for himself. Dean gave another affronted look to Sam and Cas before walking over to the screen and reading it.  
  
“Sam this is the case we were just working,” he said.  
  
“I know,” Sam replied.  
  
Dean continued reading.  
  
“Sam this is the conversation we had with the cops, verbatim,” Dean said, mild panic in his voice.  
  
“I know,” Sam repeated.  
  
Dean read further, and his eyes widened more as he got to the conversation he supposedly had.  
  
“Sam-- this-- Cas-- I--” he stuttered, things starting to make a little more sense now, but in a terrible, terrible way. He wanted to stop reading, desperately wanted to, but he was unable to tear his eyes away. “ _Cas_ \--”  
  
“It’s ok Dean,” Cas said, looking down at the edge of the table.  
  
Dean abruptly stood and backed away from the laptop, away from Sam and away from Cas.  
  
“Cas I’m not-- Sam… Sam who sent this to y-- no, first-- first of all this never happened,” Dean sputtered out, “and second of all who sent this to you?”  
  
“Dean everything else is spot on so far,” Sam insisted, “and--”  
  
“Yeah everything except for _that_ ,” Dean argued back. “Now answer my question, Sam!”  
Sam pulled up his e-mail page in order to show Dean, but Cas already was answering for him.  
  
“We don’t know who wrote it Dean,” he said, “But the person who sent it was someone who it appears you’re both familiar with-- a girl named Becky.”  
  
Dean blanched at the name. “Becky sent you this?”  
  
“She… said the writer claimed it was real, and she wanted to know if it was,” Sam answered simply.  
  
“Well you can tell her it’s not,” Dean stated firmly.  
  
“I planned to do that from the start, Dean,” Sam replied, exasperated, “but I just-- I don’t know… We didn’t expect to read that, and when you stepped out of the shower right after we had, after seeing our reactions, and asking us about them-- it just felt like the cat was already out of the bag before it was even _in_ .”  
  
“Well there ain’t no cat and there ain’t no bag, I’ll tell you that now, because I never had any conversation with that chick,” Dean persisted.  
  
“It could be that someone who helped us on that case is the person responsible for writing this,” Cas suggested.  
  
“Yeah, because I kinda doubt Chuck started writing stories about us as fan fiction, especially not under the username…,” Sam laughed before trailing off, “...under that username.”  
  
Dean was still standing towards the doorway to his room, arms crossed and looking away from the two sitting on the couch.  
  
“I’ll send it to you, Dean, so that you can uh… read it, and let us know if there’s anything we should be concerned about…” Sam told him as he forwarded the e-mail and then closed his laptop. “But now I’m getting in the shower, and then I’m going to bed.”  
  
With that, he got up from the couch, fished a towel out of his bag, and headed into the bathroom and left Cas and Dean awkwardly in the living room. Dean looked over toward Cas, but when he caught his eyes, his face reddened and he turned away again.  
  
“We… have a few ideas on what type of monster we might be hunting” Cas said, “From the research we did before Sam received the e-mail… we’re hoping any information we get tomorrow clarifies it.”  
  
“Right,” Dean replied. He rubbed his face and continued, “So what are we thinking?”  
  
“It’s almost definitely a shapeshifter of some variety. Considering the victim was male, it could be a kumiho. Or, it’s possible it’s something called a spearfinger.”  
  
“Great. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow,” Dean said. He turned to head into his room.  
  
“Dean,” Cas called to him. He stopped, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn around and face him.  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“I… apologize, for the discomfort we caused you. It was not intentional,” Cas said.  
  
“Yeah,” was all Dean replied. He moved to continue into the room, but was stopped again by Cas.  
  
“Dean.”  
  
“Yeah?” he replied, resting his arm on the door frame.  
  
“If--,” he started, and then stopped for a moment, wondering if it might be better to drop the subject. “If you don’t actually want to do those things...with--with me, why would someone write that?” he finally asked.  
  
Dean groaned and buried his face in his arm. “Because that’s what people do, Cas,” he answered tiredly. “When they want two people to be, you know-- together… like that… they make up stories where it’s true.”  
  
“But what this person wrote--the events of our most recent hunt-- those _were_ true, Dean,” Cas insisted, “So why--”  
  
“Just because they got some stuff right doesn’t mean it all is,” Dean argued, cutting him off. “I mean if they wrote it the other way round and said you wanted to do all that with me, would that make it true?” He realized his choice of words, and blushing profusely, ended the conversation before Cas could make any comment on it.  
  
“Actually don’t-- don’t answer that,” he said, and without another word went into his room and closed the door.  
  
\---  
  
“Sir, we’re with the State Department of Wildlife. We came to investigate the body you found in order to determine the animal who attacked and then partially ate him,” Sam said, pulling out his fake badge and handing it over to the coroner.  
  
“Uh… we were thinking wolves or somethin’, but you’re free to take a look yourselves, I guess,” he replied, lifting his glasses up to take a closer look at the badge before handing it back to Sam. “He drowned before anything got to him, so you’d think that’d be the part people look into. He was found by a man who went out night fishing. The time of death wasn’t too long before he was found, so whatever got to him must’ve got him on the shore and then just finished with him, and he drifted back into the lake.” He opened up the drawer with the victim inside.  
  
“Any idea what he was doing out at the lake in the first place?” Dean asked. They were already fairly certain they knew what he was doing after reading the article back in the diner, but it didn’t hurt to ask.  
  
“It’s none of my business,” the coroner replied. He unzipped the body bag. “I’ll let you folks get to it. Just call me if you have any other questions,” he said.  
  
“Thank you, we will,” Cas answered as he left the room.  
  
The three of them gathered around the body and looked at it. Sam made a face of slight disgust. No matter how many bodies like this he saw, the sight always managed to make his stomach turn a little. The body looked more like it had been mostly eaten, or half eaten, rather than just partially. Large chunks of arm and leg muscle were missing from each limb, and one of the arm bones had been cracked and splintered where it jutted through the remaining flesh. His throat had been torn open, and more than a quarter of his face was gone. The most intact part of the whole body was the torso, where a smaller part of the chest had only been eaten until the ribs just barely showed underneath, and a gaping wound where the liver had probably been.  
  
Dean grimaced as he pulled on some gloves.  
  
“Either of you want the honors?” he asked Sam and Cas.  
  
“Do we even need to?” Sam asked in return. He picked up the clipboard with the autopsy report. “It says here that his lungs had water in them, as well as his stomach. Nothing was found showing he was drugged, and all the other injuries happened after he died. His liver is missing, and one of the organs nearby it was damaged.”  
  
Cas was already investigating one of the man’s hands though-- or what was left of it.  
  
“You trying to read his fortune, Cas?” Dean asked, lips slightly curled at the fact Cas wasn’t wearing gloves.  
  
“Some of his skin is missing in some places on his hand,” Cas started.  
  
“Yeah, I’d say a lot of his hand is probably missing from his hand,” Dean remarked.  
  
Cas held the hand up for them to see it better. “And in other places, it appears there’s a thin layer of extra skin,” he finished.  
  
Sam pulled on a pair of gloves and took the hand to get a better look. Cas tilted it to show the part just under the thumb, one of the few places there was still skin to examine.  
  
“There,” he said, running a thumb over the area.  
  
“What is it?” Sam asked.  
  
Dean leaned in to get a look as well.  
  
“I’m not entirely sure,” Cas replied. He picked at the substance, causing Dean to frown at him. Cas noticed this and paused, looking up at Dean.  
  
“Something wrong?”  
  
“You’re just gonna pick at some dried stuff on some dead guy’s hand when you’re not even wearing gloves?” Dean asked.  
  
“Yes,” Cas answered, “And it’s not quite ‘dried stuff’ so much as it is ‘fused stuff’... Whatever this is, it seems to have bonded with his skin cells.”    
  
“What does that mean?” Sam asked, “It’s not just glue?”  
  
“No, it’s a biological material of some kind,” Cas said. “It could be from whatever we’re hunting. We should investigate the area where he was found.”  
  
Sam put the hand down. “Sounds like a plan. We done here then?” he asked.  
  
Dean shrugged.  
  
“I guess so.”  
  
Sam zipped the body back up and pushed the drawer closed.  
  
\---  
  
Dean parked the Impala in a small lot outside the trail that led up to the lake. They left the car and started down the trail. A few minutes in a fox darted out past them and scurried away back into the brush.  
  
“I guess this place has a lot of wildlife living around it,” Sam commented.  
  
They continued along and after a few more minutes of walking, they reached the lake. However, some of the town’s police were already there, gathered in a small group just on the other side of some yellow caution tape. One of them looked up and noticed Sam, Dean, and Cas walking towards them.  
  
“Sorry fellas,” she called out, “but this site’s going to be under federal investigation just as soon as the agents who called us get here. Til then we’re making sure no one messes up the scene.”  
  
“Well we just so happen to be agents ourselves,” Dean said, smirking as he reached into his coat pocket.  
  
“Well you might look the part for one of them, but the other’s a woman,” the officer answered. “We did receive identification in advance.”  
  
“Of the CDC,” Sam said, fishing into a side pocket and pulling out an ID. “I’m Agent Stills, and these two are my interns.”  
  
Dean laughed awkwardly, looking at Sam.  
  
“They look a little old to be interns,” the officer commented.  
  
“You’re never too old to pursue your passions,” Dean replied with a wink.  
  
The officer ignored him and continued her inquiry with Sam.  
  
“Why would the CDC be out here for what all signs point to as an accident, and what the FBI is now looking into as a murder?” she asked, head turned slightly to the side.  
  
“We just thought this case might be good practice for real life... fieldwork... investigating possible contagions and outbreaks,” Cas spoke up.  
  
Sam was grateful Cas had been on enough hunts with them to have impersonated CDC before. He nodded in agreement with what he’d said.  
  
The officer narrowed her eyes slightly, and staring directly at Sam took him badge from him to examine it. She frowned and then shrugged after a second.  
  
“Well, this looks legit, so go ahead,” she said, lifting up the caution tape for them to enter.  
  
“Thanks,” Sam said.  
  
“Be careful not to accidentally contaminate the site,” she warned.  
  
Dean chuckled. “Lady, preventing accidental contamination’s kinda our thing,” he joked.  
  
She was unamused.  
  
They looked briefly around the area, but the only noteable things they found were a few large tufts of what Cas identified as fox fur in a bush, and a set of hoof prints in the mud leading up to the water.  
  
Sam leaned in close toward Cas and Dean and spoke in a low voice to keep the officers from possibly overhearing anything.  
  
“So Cas and I were thinking that one of the things this could be is a kumiho-- it’s kind of like a kitsune in that they have something todo with foxes, but unlike them, they’re a form of shapeshifter that can turn into a fox, and they crave livers and hearts,” he posited.  
  
“Yeah Cas filled me in,” Dean said, taking the fur and looking at it. “So we’re pretty sure that’s one of them, then, huh?”  
  
“Yes,” Cas answered.  
  
Sam took the fur back and placed it into a small bag in his pocket. “Kumiho almost always take the form of a woman, so let’s start asking questions around town to see if anyone saw the guy with someone, after lunch,” he said.  
  
“And I know exactly where we’re going for lunch too,” Dean said with a grin on his face.  
  
They started to show themselves out, ducking under the caution tape, when the officer from earlier addressed them.  
  
“What did you three take from over there?” she asked, giving them a hard look.  
  
“Oh, nothing-- just a tuft of fox fur,” Sam answered, pulling out the bag. “Since there’s not an actual outbreak in the area, it seemed like a good practice sample to take.” he held the bag towards her. “Do you… do you guys want it…?” he offered.  
  
“Yeah we were careful not to step on the hoof prints either,” Dean added, “Never know when your killer might be a centaur or something.”  
  
She sighed in irritation. “Those are just from people who like to take rental horses up the trail here. Sometimes they have a picnic or go swimming and the horses walk around in the water to cool off,” she explained. “We know there’s probably nothing here to investigate, but we do take our jobs seriously around here, so we’d appreciate it if you took it seriously too.”  
  
“Yes, I’m sorry ma’am, you can ignore him,” Sam apologized.  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “You three have a nice day.”  
  
“You too,” they replied before continuing back down the trail.  
  
Knowing it’d be a few minutes, Dean pulled out his phone, figuring it might be a good time to look through some of the ridiculous piece of writing he was sent. He stopped when the story didn’t end with the end of the previous hunt, but instead had picked up at the diner where they learned about their current case. He scrunched his eyebrows together as he continued reading.  
  
Sam and Cas stopped a bit ahead of him and turned to watch him.  
  
“What is it?” Cas asked.  
  
“This story…” Dean answered, not making much effort to clarify in favor of reading further.  
  
“Did something come up?” Sam pressed.  
  
Dean ignored them for a bit, eyes scanning the text faster until he got to their conversation about the fanfic in the hotel. He closed his eyes for a moment, pushing away the awkward feelings that were resurfacing, and powered through it. Sam walked over to where Dean was, with Cas following. They each peered over him, trying to read the text at the same time.  
  
“These are all events that happened recently,” Cas said.  
  
“How…,” Sam trailed off, “Could it actually be Chuck…?”  
  
Dean continued to ignore them. His eyes widened when he got to the part after he went to bed, and just realizing they were standing right next to him now, looked first over at Sam, then at Cas. He opened his mouth, but a sudden rush of anger chased any words away, so he closed it again.  
  
Sam and Cas were confused until they read further.  
  
“Dean, we did not say any of this about you,” Cas tried.  
  
“Dean--”  
  
Dean stepped forcefully away from both of them, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He took a deep breath.  
  
“Cas is telling the truth-- we didn’t even really talk after you went to bed! I just said good night, and went to bed myself!” Sam continued in their defense.  
  
Dean spun around. “So uh, after trying to get me to confess to a conversation that never happened, you both didn’t continue talking about how I need to ‘use my words’ and how I need to ‘embrace this part of myself instead of hide from it’, huh?” he asked them, less anger than expected finding its way into his words, but anger all the same.  
  
Sam looked down, as did Cas, guilt crossing their faces.  
  
“Ok… so… you were telling the truth,” Sam said. “I’m sorry we didn’t believe you, but you have to admit the circumstances at the time weren’t exactly working towards it being the likely answer.”  
  
“He’s right, Dean,” Cas added, “And once again, our intentions were not to--”  
  
“Not to make me uncomfortable, Cas, I got it,” Dean said. He sighed in exasperation and pulled his hand through his hair. He looked up at Cas and his brother, who both now looked flustered themselves. They stood there, not saying anything else. “Look-- let’s drop that part for now, ok?” he said, “For now let’s focus on the case, and then we can worry about why it’s being recorded on a fan website.”  
  
Sam and Cas walked over to Dean, each apologizing again and clapping him on the shoulder as they walked past. Feeling ridiculous now, Dean just wanted to let them know it was fine, so he went to go pat Cas’ hand where it had lingered for a second longer than Sam’s. In turn, his own hand lingered a little as well. Cas stopped to look at Dean, and when they made eye contact, Dean’s heart jumped and he looked down again, patting Cas’ hand once more before pulling his own away. Cas removed his hand as well after he did, but continued to watch Dean for a moment as he moved hurriedly to catch up with Sam where he was waiting.  
  
“I don’t know about either of you but I’m ready for some pie,” he said.  
  
\---  
  
Dean scowled as he worked his way through a steak sandwich.  
  
“I’m sorry Dean, but we don’t have three hours to wait for an open spot right now,” Sam said.  
  
“I know,” Dean complained, “but is that restaurant seriously the only one that sell pie?”  
  
“Do we know any of the places Jack frequented, or who any of his friends might be?” Cas asked, ignoring Dean’s background grumbling.  
  
Sam took a bite of his sandwich. “We don’t,” he answered through a mouthful of food, “but we can probably just ask the people who wrote the article and interviewed them.”  
  
“They’ll probably wonder why the FBI don’t just ask the police,” Dean mentioned.  
  
“And we just told the police we were CDC,” Cas added.  
  
Sam thought on it a moment, before replying, “Then we’ll just say we’re from some college somewhere studying journalism, and we wanted to write our own article about it but the police didn’t think it was appropriate for students, so we were hoping the actual journalists would come through for us.”  
  
Dean shrugged, not having a better idea. “Hopefully none of these people talk to each other until we finish the case, or we’ll have a lot of question to answer,” he said. He pulled out his phone again, opening up his e-mail.  
  
“So how far did that fic go?” Sam asked.  
  
“It looked like just up until we were at the morgue,” Dean answered. He clicked the link to the fic, opening it onto his phone. “Hold on a second,” he said, looking closer at the screen. “There’s been an update.”  
  
Cas reached for the phone, tilting the screen so he could see it as well. His fingers brushed against Dean’s as he did, causing a small jolt which Dean always ignored.  
  
“It starts with the investigation at the lake, but it looks like there’s much more written after that,” he noted curiously.  
  
“So wait-- it’s going into our future now?” Sam asked in disbelief.  
  
Dean scrolled down to read past where they arrived at the diner, and past where he opened the fic on his phone.  
  
“It says the receptionist from our inn walks in,” he read.  
  
Just then, they turned to the door as the bell sound got their attention. Just as it said, their receptionist entered the restaurant they were at, and went to sit at a booth not far from theirs. A waiter approached her, asking her what she’d like to order.  
  
“I’ll have the liverwurst sandwich,” she replied with a smile.  
  
Dean, Cas, and Sam all looked at each other and then back over to where she sat.  
  
“Dean, her bag,” Sam pointed out.  
  
“It’s a cute little fox pattern she has on it, isn’t it?” Dean said.  
  
“She did seem to be intent on seducing you last night,” Cas added.  
  
Dean looked over at Cas. “Buddy I think she was trying to seduce all of us,” he said, quickly looking him over.  
  
“Oh,” Cas replied, “In any case, she might be the kumiho.”  
  
Dean scrolled a little further down in the fic. “Apparently we go talk to her,” he said, “so let’s finish up and go do that.”  
  
Sam and Dean finished their meals, and the three of them moved over to talk to the receptionist.  
  
“Hey, it’s the agents,” she greeted them cheerfully, “How’s the investigation going?”  
  
“We think we have a suspect,” Cas replied.  
  
“Oh, well, that’s good to hear,” she said.  
Sam pointed at her sandwich. “Is that liverwurst?” he asked casually.  
  
She nodded and took a bite. “It’s my favorite,” she replied, “I don’t know why-- normally it’s one of those foods people think are really gross, but I absolutely love liver.”  
  
“Oh, uh…” Dean started, looking for a name to call her by.  
  
“You can call me Roxy,” she supplied.  
  
“Roxy, right. ‘Foxy Roxy’,” he joked.  
  
Sam rolled his eyes.  
  
“Roxy, listen,” Dean continued, “Did you happen to know the guy who was killed? A Jack Bayers? We’re looking to ask people he knew some questions to help narrow things down a little.”  
  
“Not… really,” she answered. “I saw his picture in the paper. He would sometimes come by the stables I volunteer at in the afternoons and rent a horse to take up the trail to the lake, but that’s about it. And actually, now that I think about it, the manager did mention he brought a horse up there the night he was killed. The horse was found wandering around the trail the next day, the poor thing. It was one of our newer additions, too--a handsome Clydesdale, so it wasn’t familiar with the area.”  
  
“How long have you volunteered there?” Cas asked her.  
  
“A bunch of years now,” she replied offhand. “I’m on my lunch break right now, but you guys are welcome to visit me at the stables if you like. I’ll even give you guys a free a ride. I’ll be done in about 20 minutes, if that’s alright.”  
  
“Sure,” Sam said, “We’ll meet you there in twenty.”  
  
They paid for their meals at the cashier and left.  
  
\---  
  
“It’s a shame we didn’t have anything silver on us at the restaurant or we could have tested her right then and there,” Dean said as he pulled up into a small parking space at the side of the stables.  
  
“We can probably just drop a silver pocket knife and ask her to pick it up,” Sam suggested.  
  
“We don’t need to do that,” Cas said from the backseat, reading from his phone. “She’s not the kumiho.”  
  
Dean and Sam turned around to look at him.  
  
“How do you know?” Dean asked.  
  
Cas held his phone up to them briefly before continuing reading. “The future events of this case are now being written in this story,” he explained, “so I’m reading ahead.”  
  
“That’s actually… a really good idea,” Sam said, wondering why they hadn’t just done that at the restaurant. “What’s it saying so far?”  
  
“We wait here for Roxy, reading about our future selves, and she arrives on time. She goes inside for a moment, and when she comes out, we see that she’s wearing a necklace which she confirms is real silver,” Cas listed, “She says the clydesdale is missing again and complains he’s always getting out, but otherwise probably fine. Then we take some horses up to the trail to the lake, where a man swimming in the lake suggests alternative transport to Dean. Then we head back to the cottage, and that’s as far as I’ve managed to get.”  
  
Before they could comment, they heard the sound of a car pulling up next to them. It shut off, and Roxy got out, waving at them as she did.  
  
“Hey, I just need to get something from inside real quick, and then I’ll bring some horses around,” she said.  
  
“We’ll be here,” Dean replied.  
  
Soon enough, she came back out of the building, a silver necklace around her neck, glittering in the sun.  
  
“Is that… real silver, by any chance?” Sam asked.  
  
“Yep! I got it as a gift last year,” she answered before walking over to the horse stables.  
  
The three of them waited out front by the cars for a few minutes, until finally she came back with three horses in tow.  
  
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, “But most of our horses are out right now with others, and it looks like the new horse got out again, so we’ll take just these three we have at the moment.”  
  
“One of your horses got loose?” Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is it going to be ok?”  
  
“Oh, yeah, we learned from his previous owners that he was always getting out, but is always fine, so we don’t worry about it too much-- it’s just that until he gets used to the new area, we always have to go look for him before the sun goes down. Anyway, two of you will have to share, if that’s alright.”  
  
“These two,” Sam said immediately, volunteering Cas and Dean to share a horse.  
  
“Great, then let’s go,” Roxy replied.  
  
\---  
  
Dean felt a small shiver run through him as they rode along the trail, still not really having gotten used to feeling Cas’ arms wrapped around him from behind, hands holding onto his stomach. Cas leaned forward to say something to Sam who was ahead of them, and his chin was almost resting on Dean’s shoulder, his voice right next to Dean’s ear. Cas turned slightly to look at Dean, and he was close enough that Dean could feel his breath on the skin of his neck, which stirred something in him. He was thankful no one was talking directly to him, because he was finding it hard to keep his attention on the conversation in general. Before too long though, they reached the trail entrance. A police car was in the lot blocking it off.  
  
“Sorry, this trail’s closed right now as a possible crime scene,” the officer called to them from near the car.  
  
“Oh right, you guys had probably just gotten back from there,” Roxy said, looking over at the three of them.  
  
“Yeah, sorry-- we kinda forgot it was closed to non FBI,” Sam said, putting on a sheepish grin that was mostly for potentially almost having been caught, but worked as having been for forgetting there was actual FBI doing an investigation there.  
  
“It’s no problem. We’ll just go down the ocean trail instead,” Roxy replied.  
  
They headed down a different trail. This time Cas’ hand had fallen to rest on Dean’s thigh. Dean cleared his throat softly, asking Cas to move it under the excuse it wasn’t proper form or something and safety or whatever. Cas obliged him easily enough, and Dean let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.  
  
About 10 minutes later, they reached the ocean. The had the horses up to the water’s edge.  
  
“If you’re tired of riding the horses, we can walk around for a bit here,” Roxy offered.  
  
A dark haired man came stumbling through the waves and out of the water. When he stood, it turned out he was completely naked. He winked over at Roxy, and then after pulling a few strands of seaweed out of his hair, looked curiously at Dean before giving him an amorous grin. “If you’re interested, I’ve got something else you could ride,” he offered suggestively.  
  
Dean’s face went bright red. This wasn’t what he thought Cas had meant by someone suggesting alternate forms of transport to him.  
  
“You too, darling,” he said to Roxy as he headed off into the tree.  
  
“Well… alright then,” Sam said awkwardly.  
  
“I guess this beach is becoming popular for that too now,” Roxy commented.  
  
Cas tilted his head slightly to the side. “Why offer something to someone and then leave without waiting for an answer or following through,” he asked, causing Dean to sputter.  
  
“Cas, it’s-- don’t worry about it right now, ok?” he said quickly.  
  
They stayed around the beach for a few more minutes, admiring the view of the ocean, when Roxy suggested they head back so she could go out looking for the missing horse. On the way back, Dean tried switching places with Cas, but it turned out sitting behind him wasn’t much easier than sitting in front.  
  
As they rode past the trail leading to the lake, they overheard the police officer on the radio. Sam sighed as they heard that a human liver had been found washed up on the shore not very far from the beach they’d just investigated, and that they thought it belonged to Jack. It looked like they were either at square one, or on a wild goose chase.  
  
When they got back to the stables though, Dean was happy to be off the horse and in the driver’s side seat of the Impala.  
  
\---  
  
Back at the inn, they all had the fic open, reading the recent updates.  
  
“So I guess we are chasing something here, because apparently Roxy almost gets killed in a few hours over by the ocean looking for the horse,” Dean said, “That is, until we show up and kill it instead.”  
  
Sam stretched his legs out on the couch where he was sitting. “So we just head up there early and beat her and the monster there?” he suggested with a yawn, “And then according to this, Dean, you uh, get foxy with Roxy.”  
  
“Don’t,” Dean said, frowning at the bad joke.  
  
“I don’t see why we shouldn’t go up there early,” Cas replied.  
  
“Then let’s go,” Dean said.  
  
\---  
  
Dean parked the Impala in a parking lot at the start of the trail they took earlier to get to the ocean just as the sun started to set. They started along it, and after only a few minutes, shortly before they reached the beach, they saw a brown horse with white markings on its legs near its hooves standing a short distance away from them.  
  
“Hey, do you think that’s the horse she’s looking for?” Sam asked.  
  
“I think it is,” Cas answered, “We should bring it with us if she’s looking for it.”  
  
Dean carefully stepped toward it, but it didn’t shy away like he half expected. Instead, it lowered itself to the ground and looked at him.  
  
“Dude, I think it’s letting you ride it,” Sam whispered.  
  
“Alright, shhh, that’s it,” Dean quietly said to the horse as he approached it. It didn’t move, so when he was close enough he reached out and pet its nose gently. “There we go,” he continued. He looked over at Sam, who shrugged, and then at Cas, who was looking warily at it. Then, carefully, he climbed onto its back, and it stood up again and started moving along the trail towards the ocean. Dean tapped its side with his heel to get it to stop, and it obeyed.  
  
“This thing’s pretty mild mannered,” he noted.  
  
They continued down the trail, hurrying a little as it began to get darker. A breeze blew in, carrying the salty smell of the ocean water with it, letting them know they were close. Suddenly, the horse took a deep breath in, and then after rearing up and kicking the air, whinnying loudly, it took off at a breakneck pace towards the water.  
  
“Dean!” Sam and Cas yelled after him. They ran after the horse.  
  
“I knew something felt off about it!” Cas said as they raced toward the ocean.  
  
Looking ahead, they saw the horse plunge into the dark blue water, carrying Dea down with it.  
  
“Dean!” they shouted. They were close enough to see a stream of bubbles reaching the surface, but after a second, they stopped.  
  
Cas raced ahead straight into the ocean after them, and Sam stopped at the water’s edge. He put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath, and waited. What felt like whole minutes passed, and there was no sign of either Cas, or Dean, or the horse.  
  
“Cas!” he called out, his voice quavering, “Dean!”  
  
A few more long moments passed, and then suddenly Cas emerged from the water, staggering forward and breathing heavily, with Dean in his arms. Before he even reached the beach, he touched Dean’s chest lightly, and Dean immediately started coughing, spitting out some water and gasping for air. He let Dean down carefully once they were in shallower water, making sure he was able to stand.  
  
“Guys! What the hell happened?!” Sam exclaimed, running forward to hug them both despite them being soaked.  
  
“It was something called an each uisge,” Cas answered, his breath returning to him.  
  
“A what?!” Dean gasped out.  
  
Cas kept his arm around him as he guided him down the trail back toward the Impala. “An each uisge. It’s a type of shapeshifter more commonly found around Scotland. They turn into horses and lure people into riding them. Things are fine until the see or smell water, because it triggers the release of a binding substance that’s secreted from their skin and fuses with the rider’s clothing or skin,” he explained.  
  
“That’s what was on the guy’s hand,” Sam stated.  
  
“Yes,” Cas said, and then continued, “Once that happens, it runs toward the water and drowns its victim, after which it devours them entirely, with the exception of its least favorite part-- the liver.”  
  
“Oh,” Dean said, still breathing hard. “Listen Sammy-- I don’t care if we have to wait three days, we’re going to that restaurant and we’re eating at the dessert bar so I can get some pie, especially after this.”  
  
“Uh, yeah-- no, of course-- just, maybe dry off and change clothes first,” Sam replied.  
  
They reached the car a short time later, driving back to their cottage and changing their clothing. Dean lent Cas some clothes of his to wear since they were the same size, and then they headed over to the beach restaurant with the pies that never run out.  
  
\---  
  
“I’m so sorry, but due to a breakdown of one of our refrigerators where we chill the dough, we don’t have any pie right now,” one of the restaurant staff told them. “But we do have plenty of cake right now, as well as some of our other desserts which don’t require any refrigeration,” she added, in a voice hopeful that those would suffice, “And if you really had a taste for pie, we do have a lemon meringue cake option.”    
  
Dean sighed. “Yeah… the cake’ll do…”  
  
“Sorry Dean,” Sam said, looking sympathetic.  
  
“Also, there aren’t any table available indoors at the moment, but we do have a table open out on the beach right now, right next to the ocean. Is that ok?” she asked.  
  
“That’s fine, thank you,” Cas answered.  
  
They placed their orders, and each got a small plate to fill with desserts to bring to their table. Because the servings were smaller, Dean got himself two servings of the lemon meringue cake, a slice of chocolate cake, and a few cookies. Cas took just one slice of the lemon cake on his plate, and Sam a single slice as well as a few cookies on his. They walked out to their table and took their seats. The view was very pretty, with the moon reflecting off the water’s surface. They snacked on the cakes while waiting for their orders.  
  
“So what happened with you both down there?” Sam asked, wiping away some of the meringue frosting with the sleeve of his shirt.  
  
“When the each-- horse thing took off, I realized I was stuck to it. I tried to get my silver knife with my free hand, but then it dove into the water and the stuff like… dissolved or something. I was free, but it grabbed me and started pulling me down,” Dean told them. “I managed to get my knife out, I think, but things started going dark around then. Next thing I know Cas is carrying me out, which, thanks for that, Cas,” he added, lifting his fork towards him.  
  
“Of course, Dean,” Cas replied. “I got there in time before it could start consuming you. I stabbed it with your knife and that killed it.”  
  
Sam pulled out his phone. After a few moments, he spoke up. “So I looked up the each uisge, and apparently they can take the form of a handsome man in order to seduce women, and you can tell what they are because they always have seaweed or water plants in their hair,” he said.  
  
“So that guy earlier leaving the ocean, he was the monster?” Dean asked. “But I’m not a woman.”  
  
“Well, he apparently thought you were interested anyway,” Sam commented.  
  
“Well he had the wrong idea,” Dean refuted. He met Cas’ eyes and looked away, not wanting to see the fond amusement in them.  
  
They ate in silence for a few minutes, and then Cas spoke up.  
  
“I couldn’t help but notice that what we’re doing right now, it’s something we were talking about earlier,” he pointed out.  
  
Dean and Sam gave him confused looks, eyebrows drawn together.  
  
“And how’s that?” Dean asked.  
  
Cas gestured toward their plates. “What we’re eating-- it’s cake. And we’re also by the ocean,” he clarified.  
  
Sam just started laughing.

**Author's Note:**

> Of course, this is for [spncoldesthits](http://spncoldesthits.tumblr.com/post/162271446280/julys-prompt-posting-dates-15-18th-of-july). I feel like there are more tags to add and maybe more thing to say here, but I should get this posted first, and I also kind of want to go to bed.
> 
> I could not believe my eyes  
> I did not realize  
> I forgot the fic's first part before I fell asleep. :I 
> 
> ...I will add it when I get home because I can't access Google docs on my phone right now. :I
> 
> Whoops. 
> 
> Update: Alright I went back and added the first section. I might go and make this part of that series-that-has-yet-to-be-properly-named, but it might just be nice by itself.


End file.
